In this tutorial, I have covered how to combine the first name and the last name in Excel. So, in case you have the name data you want to combine, it’s one single step in your already existing power query workflow.
This will add a new column that will have the full name.Ĭompared to the formula methods and Flash Fill, Power Query is definitely a bit longer.īut the benefit of using this method is that in case your original data changes, you can quickly refresh the query and your resulting data would automatically update.Īlso, Power Query is widely used to combine different tables and data from multiple worksheets and workbooks. In case you want the original columns as well as a new column that contains the full name, instead of selecting the columns and Merge them, first select the Add Column tab in the Power Query Editor, then select the columns, and then click on Merge Columns. We have a list of first names and last names in two different columns A and B, as shown below. Let us merge the cells by using the & symbol. The above steps would insert a new worksheet in the workbook with a table that has one column that has the full name. We can merge the cells by using the & symbol in the formula. Suppose you have a data set as shown below and you want to merge the two columns to get the full name. You can also use this to quickly merge columns and combine the first and the last name.įor Power Query to work, your data needs to be in an Excel Table (or at least a Named Range).įor the purpose of this tutorial, I will convert the data set that has the 1st and the last name into an Excel Table.
Power Query is an amazing tool that used to extract and transform data. While it’s most likely to work as expected, it’s a good idea to double-check the result of Flash Fill.
It works by identifying patterns and using the same pattern to fill all the cells in the column. Keep in mind that Flash Fill is not perfect. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Control + E to fill using Flash fill.Ĭombining the first and the last name (or even the first, middle, and last name) is a simple operation that Flash Fill can easily handle. In case Flash fill isn’t able to pick up the right pattern and gives incorrect result, fill two cells manually and then do the above steps. The above steps would instantly pick the pattern from the cell above and fill the entire column with the combined name.